Wix vs Shopify: Head-to-Head

While Wix is traditionally thought of as a website builder rather than an ecommerce platform, it nonetheless performed decently well in our range of tests. It excelled in our ratings for design, functionality, and value for money.

Shopify, on the other hand, scores strongly across the board, especially in the sales features and ease of use categories.

Number of ecommerce templates	76	69
Cheapest Plan ($)	$20	$29
Most expensive plan ($)	$35	$299
Domain cost	Free for one year, paid annually	$11 per year
Multi channel integration	✔	✔
Email marketing	✔	Via third-party app
24/7 support	✗	✔
Tech.Co Score	4 stars	4.5 stars
Get started	Try Wix	Try Shopify

Shopify Supports More Sales Channels

Shopify lets you sell your products and services through loads of different sales channels. For example, you can sell through social media sites such as Instagram or Facebook, or global ecommerce sites such as eBay or Amazon.

All the sales information from the channels is managed by Shopify, meaning that you can keep track of stock levels, and analyze the sales performance on these different channels. Wix, on the other hand, only allows you to sell products through its online store templates.

Shopify Has Better Product Inventory

Shopify makes it super easy to add to and manage the products you sell. For a start, you’re able to add new products in bulk, rather than one-by-one. This is helpful if you’ve got a new line of similar products, for example.

Shopify also has excellent product management features which make it easy to track and amend stock levels, as well as analyze the way customers interact with your products when they come to purchase them.

Wix, by contrast, only allows for individual product uploads. What’s more, many of Shopify’s built-in inventory features are only available for Wix through third-party apps, which can vary in quality.

Wix Gives You More Creative Control

It should come as no surprise that Wix offers fantastic control over the design and style of your online storefront. It is, after all, a website builder first-and-foremost.

Wix offers 71 ecommerce specific website templates across a range of industries. In our user testing, all these templates scored highly for ease of use and design quality. You also have free rein to edit these templates with Wix’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor.

While Shopify does offer a number of strong templates, it can’t match the overall quality and scope of Wix’s.

They Both Have Large App Stores

Both Shopify and Wix have extensive app stores which let you augment the features available on both your online store and ecommerce platform.

However, it should be noted that most of Wix’s apps relate to the design aspects of your site, whereas Shopify’s will give you more complex sales features. One exception, though, is the Online Store app by Ecwid, which will give your Wix website the features to become a true ecommerce platform.

Shopify Has Better Accounting Tools

Again, when it comes to the detail of ecommerce, Shopify wins out again. Its built-in invoice generator makes it super-easy to create invoices, but allows you the option to change and customize them without restraint.

Similarly, Shopify will automatically calculate the tax rates on your products. However, these automatic tax rates can be changed and customized, so you can ensure any quirks – such as state tax exemptions in the US, or VAT exempt items in Britain – don’t fall through the cracks. Any changes you make are applied to your online sales and any sales made with Shopify POS. If that’s not enough, Shopify also has a wide range of accounting apps available for installation.

Wix vs Shopify Pricing Comparison

On paper, Wix appears to be the better value option, with pricing plans starting from as little as $5 per month. However, we’re interested in Wix’s business plans, which start from a $20 per month basic package, and grant you access to Wix’s online store functions, as well as commission free sales.

The top two Wix business plans offer precious little in extra ecommerce functionality. Instead, most of the new tools focus around increasing the number of visitors to your site, rather than improving your accounting, for example.

Shopify, on the other hand, appears to be in a completely different league to Wix when it comes to pricing. Its plans start at $29 per month with Basic Shopify, while the Advanced Shopify plan costs $299 per month.

However, compared to Wix, you certainly get much more for your money with ecommerce features. For example, you’ll get access to the Shopify POS, which supports real-world selling, a range of customizable shipping rates, and even better reporting tools.

The Verdict – Shopify is the Best Ecommerce Builder

Shopify is undoubtedly the better ecommerce platform. Wix can only really best Shopify when it comes to the design stakes, thanks to its range of great templates with loads of customization options.

When it comes to the actual process and detail of running an ecommerce website, Shopify wins hands down. It has more powerful sales features, fantastic accounting and reporting tools, and can even let you sell products in a bricks-and-mortar store.